Sonal Nandkishor Patel, a 40-year-old Indian-origin woman, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for causing a crash that killed Omar Ortiz, a young father of two, on Interstate 85 in Georgia’s Gwinnett County. The accident took place in 2024 and Patel pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and DUI. Prosecutors said that she was under the influence of alcohol and prescription drug Trazodone and had not slept for up to two days before the accident. Omar Ortiz had moved to the US from Cuba for a better future for his children — days before the accident. Omar was a passenger in the car with his aunt-in-law. Patel’s car collided with their stopped car and Omar died at the spot. When cops arrived, bodycam video showed Patel telling the cops that she was okay. Prosecutors revealed that Patel had cocaine in her car and had stopped the car on the interstate before falling asleep at the wheel. Patel was found driving with a suspended license. After her arrest, she was granted bond, triggering a major backlash from Ortiz’s family. The family’s attorney claimed that Patel is a repeat offender.Patel negotiated a guilty plea to homicide by vehicle and DUI, and will spend seven years in prison as part of a 25-year sentence. After prison, she will serve the rest of her sentence on probation.
